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Oakland County judge rules in Oxford shooting case
Ven Johnson, the attorney for the families, says the payout could go higher than $55M. He's been fighting to have Oxford high School take responsibility for the attack, for failing to check the gunman's backpack, for failing to remove this clearly troubled student from the school.
OXFORD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Years after four students died, and several others were injured, the Oxford High School shooting remains a difficult subject for residents to talk about.
Three years later, a court finally issued a ruling against the schools' insurance company, holding them accountable for paying out to the victims.
"We've argued from day one that when SET SEG, the insurance company for Oxford Community Schools, argued we only have a $5 million insurance policy," said attorney Ven Johnson. "We said baloney."
Attorneys for the school argued the victims were all separate occurrences.
"There were 11 different people, of course, that were shot at and hit, and some sadly were killed, others were badly injured," he said. "Instead of five million dollars for the whole thing, $5 million times 11 is $55 million worth of coverage policy limits."
Ven Johnson represents the victims' families. He says the payout could go higher than that. He's been working to ensure the Oxford School District takes responsibility for the shooting, failing to check the shooter's backpack, as well as removing the student from the school.
The students killed that day include Tate Myre, Madisyn Baldwin, Hana St. Juliana, and Justin Shilling.
"The insurance company should come forward and pay these folks and bring them a symbol," Johnson said. "A small symbol of justice."
Johnson says it's likely the insurance company will appeal. The gunman did plead guilty and both of his parents were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their role in purchasing the gun for their son.
While all three were convicted in the high-profile case, other court battles like the one with the insurance company remain.
"I'm in the supreme court now on governmental immunity here in Michigan," Johnson said. "In the federal case, we're in Cincinnati in the sixth circuit court of appeals - that's one level below the United States Supreme Court."
Johnson says that there are at least three different appeals, which he says isn't the kind of closure the families want. But this ruling counts as a small victory.
"Luckily, this has gone a positive way. Again, it's a long way to go, but it feels - it's a substantial win," he said.